A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Cathedral: Rome Pilgrimage Day 3: Assisi

Today was our big day to tour Assisi. As our tour guide said, if not for one man, there would not be much to see here! But really, it’s a nice Medieval town that has remained relatively “pure”.

We started at the Basilica of St. Clare. (Many of the places we cannot take pictures, but I snuck a few in here). We first went to a quiet chapel with the original crucifix from San Damiano (we would be there later). It was there that Francis was called by God to rebuild the church. Then, we walked down into the crypt to see venerate the body of St. Clare. They also had a number of artifacts, including tunics worn by both Francis and Clare, some of her hair, and a breviary of Francis. After this, we had Mass in the chapel of St. Agnes, Clare’s sister. This was especially amazing for me since Agnes is my mom’s Confirmation name.

Unfortunately the valley was cloudy so it was hard to get a good picture

The original San Damiano crucifix

St. Clare

St. Agnes Chapel

After Mass we walked down to the Basilica of St. Francis. It is massive (no photos). The upstairs church includes “the beginning of Italian art,” frescoes painted by Giotto (first Renaissance painter) detailing the lift of Francis. This includes, as our tour guide said, the first truly realistic landscape (the center of Assisi). The lower church is also beautiful, and includes the entrance to the crypt of St. Francis and some of his companions.

Town square, this facade is a pagan temple (for Minerva I believe) from the 1st century!

St. Francis Basilica (that's the nativity scene in the grass)

When we walked from the upper church to the lower church, the bells started ringing at noon

At this point, we were free to roam around the city for a few hours. Instead of taking in the city, I went with a smaller group on a trek up to the hermitage (Eremo delle Carceri) where Francis and others would go to get away from everything. I was told it was a 5k hike. I figured that’s not too bad. I was wrong. There were two things going against me. First: I tried to eat lunch (a delicious prosciutto and cheese sandwich) along the way. Second: I got very overheated. Oh, and the walk was up a steep incline the whole way. I made it about half way before I couldn’t walk anymore (besides wobbly legs, I was getting nauseous from the food). I and two other kind soles walked back and took a taxi up to the top (the cab driver first joked and said we should walk up there like Francis would. Did I mention we’re all wearing collars? Lazy priests.) The hermitage itself was very peaceful with beautiful vistas. I could see how Francis would be so “in-tune” with nature.

One of many beautiful views from the hermitage, unfortunately spoiled by me

After this we met up with the group and went to San Damiano. So again this was the site where St. Francis first “heard the call” and later was where the Poor Clares lived. It was very nice there, and quite small. Here we were able to see the chapel, their refectory, their dormitory, and a few other rooms. Again, no photos. After that, we were free until dinner. Overall, it was a beautiful but tiring day.